Wizards Of Waverly Place Was Almost A Very Different TV Show

8 February 2023, 15:36

Wizards of Waverly Place, starring Selena Gomez, was very nearly a completely different show on Disney Channel.

Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise, who played Harper Finkle and Jerry Russo, have launched Wizards of Waverly Pod, a podcast series all about Disney Channel hit Wizards of Waverly Place.

Reminiscing on the series, which starred Selena Gomez, the stars shared show secrets, swapped anecdotes and spilled on the behind-the-scenes antics.

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They also revealed Wizards of Waverly Place was very nearly a different show entirely, in which Selena (who portrayed Alex Russo) and on-screen brother David Henrie (Justin Russo) played twins.

Jennifer and David explained the pilot episode was called The Crazy 10-Minute Sale, which was set in a magic store instead of a subway shop. David’s character also wasn’t father to Alex, Justin and Max (Jake T. Austin) originally.

David recalled: “That was a whole different thing. Which was The Amazing O’Malley’s. And it was a magic store not a sub shop. And I was not the dad and Jake was not in the show.”

Jennifer added: “And Selena and David were twins. Which I’m like, ‘that’s not gonna work’.”

The Harper actress also revealed she originally auditioned for Alex, who Selena went on to star as, but was offered the role as Alex’s BFF.

Jennifer said she ‘fought’ to be a series regular.

“It’s a much better fit, but watching it back now – Selena and my dynamic [sic], I think we created something really beautiful,” she added.

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